The Guardian reported a maternity-cover gap across England’s National Health Service (NHS), with a Chartered Society of Physiotherapy (CSP) analysis finding the issue affects nearly half of NHS trusts.
The Guardian said 49% of trusts had neither a dedicated maternity-cover budget nor permission to exceed existing budgets for that purpose. It also reported that physiotherapy was particularly affected compared with nursing. The newspaper attributed the aggregate finding to CSP freedom-of-information responses.
One trust’s disclosure showed different answers by staff group. University Hospitals of North Midlands NHS Trust published a response to a CSP request on July 22, 2026; the trust said it received the request June 22. Asked in one question whether it had a maternity-cover budget or a policy allowing overspending, the trust answered “Unsure.” It said a submission could secure some leave cover, while allied health professional (AHP) posts lacked added staffing capacity for maternity absences. In the same disclosure, it marked arrangements for nursing as “Yes” and physiotherapy as “Unsure.”
The funding question is separate from employees’ leave entitlement. The NHS Terms and Conditions of Service Handbook gives employees the right to 52 weeks of maternity and/or adoption leave, subject to the handbook’s provisions. That entitlement is distinct from whether an employer budgets for replacement staff during an absence.
Separate CSP survey results provide wider workforce context but do not verify the Guardian’s maternity-cover finding. On Feb. 1, 2026, the society said 80% of its NHS members in its latest survey expressed concern about whether physiotherapy and support staffing was adequate for patient needs. CSP also reported that the share of NHS respondents reporting any recruitment freeze rose to 65% from 39% in its latest quarterly survey of 2025. That measure came from a separate survey.
